Lopsided Lollipops
by NaruBaby2496
Summary: /"What's that in your hand?" Sakura looked down at him, kneeled down on one knee, a pink tint in his cheeks. She couldn't help but sound harsh. That was...Sasuke glanced away, to the ground, and muttered. "A Ring Pop. I...lost...the real ring." Drabble
1. Chapter 1

Lopsided Lollipops

Narubaby2496

_There once was a prince named Charming, who wasn't quite charming at all._

_Yet, on the day of my seventeenth year_

_He came to my door and it opened,_

_However, there was no knock or call._

_My heart raced in fear_

_But soon, a grin rose to my face, ear to ear._

_For there was a ring in the palm_

_Of my prince named Charming, who wasn't quite charming at all._

A woven basket of lightwood, worn from usage and what some would call abuse, swung in an adorable pattern of left and right, high in the air and low in the air. A big bow looped around the curved handle, tied in an almost intricate fashion, the glittery pink of the fabric shining in the sun with the movement of the basket. Inside were three plump tomatoes, not too ripe nor spoiled, just as red as the red nail polish messily painted on the small, chubby fingers of the basket's holder. The other hand of the three-year-old was held by her mother's hand, not too tight, but not too soft, firm enough to let the little girl know that she shan't run astray, loose enough for the little girl to know that Kaa-san trusted her.

A gust of wind blew, sending layered, a few inches lower than the length of her shoulder, soft pink hair in a direction called west. Bright, emotion-filled eyes, light luminously when she noticed her daughter laughing wildly in happiness, the wind blowing her just as exotic dark purple locks westward, the breeze tickling her beautiful face.

The woman laughed with her daughter in that motherly fashion that only mothers could pull off. The little girl giggled again. "Kaa-san, it's so windy outside today, ne?"

"Hai, it is. It is going to be autumn soon," Sakura smiled softly, nodding lightly in acknowledgement toward nothing in particular. It was a happy nod, unnecessary but yet so, since it was comforting in a way. This weather did bring back some wonderful memories.

Kohana smiled brightly, white baby teeth shining in the sun. "Oi, Kaa-san; Tou-san said that that was when Uncle Naruto-sama made him propose to you. He said that he messed up, but I'm confused because if you love someone and you're poposing, how do you mess up?" She shrugged cutely, looking up to her mother with forest green eyes. "In Auntie Ino-chan's stories, she says that everything is perfect and nothing ever goes wrong."

Sakura laughed again, seeing the unadulterated innocence and honest confusion in the girl's eyes. "Well, I and Tou-san's love is a little bit different than your Auntie Ino's stories." The roseate woman took her free hand's thumb and forefinger and pinched them but a centimeter apart, smiling, "Just a little."

"Whoa, that's a really little bit! How come it's not all the way like Auntie Ino-chan's stories, Kaa-san? She said that love is like a flower and that it blooms to be beautiful no matter what!"

"No matter what?" Sakura gasped dramatically, mimicking Kohana's tone as they turned the first corner toward the house, and one away from the bustling dinner-crowd at the market. It was still somewhat early in Konoha, the sun yet to set, though the sky was taking its familiar post-evening orange hue, purples and dark blues painting the horizon, lengthening shadows.

Konoha nodded austerely, ceasing the swinging of her basket to make her point. "I'm for seriously, Kaa-san."

Sakura laughed to herself, humor dancing in her eyes. How this child turned out so adorable was unbeknownst to her.

"Anyways, can't you tell me why? I like love stories and our house is very far away, Kaa-san."

"It's not that far away," Sakura disagreed, shaking her head from left to right. "Only five minutes more, and all of my love stories are long."

The girl pouted. "So? Maybe I can help cook dinner and you can tell me the stories?"

There was a long silence as Sakura battled with herself on whether or not it would be appropriate for the little girl to know, and even if she did take out the worst parts, Kohana was no idiot, even if she was three, and she would press to know why something didn't seem 'all the way' like Auntie Ino's stories, even if they honestly would never be. Sometimes, Sakura found herself wondering what it would be like if her own lopsided lollipop of a love story was actually correct, if things would be the way they were now, if she would be happier or not.

Eventually, she heard a pebble solemnly kicked ahead of them, and saw a small green shoe clad foot jerk outward. "You don't have to, Kaa-san," The girl murmured, her head hung low, and by the tone of her voice, Sakura could tell that tears were on the verge of flowing down puffy cheeks and onto the packed dirt, sand, and gravel ground.

Sakura rolled her eyes, secretively, of course, and sighed. "Kohana, don't cry."

"I'm not crying; water's just coming out of my eyes."

Slowly Sakura stopped walking and kneeled down to a crouch, so she was eye level with the toddler. She cradled the angelic (by her father's glorious genes) face, softly forcing the head up. Kohana sniffed, whipping her face away.

"I don't like it when you do that, Kohana. It's okay to cry, you know?"

Silence, except for the tattered cries coming from the girl.

Sakura sighed tiredly, trying to muster patience. "However, you shouldn't cry just because I won't—"

"You aren't going to?" The child exploded, cheeks red, bottom lip pouted and trembling, eyes glazed over with tears.

"Not if you keep acting like a baby, I won't. Earlier this afternoon you were the one who said that you were a big girl, but tell me, Kohana, are you acting like a big girl right now?"

Bright green eyes were stern and level on the darker of her daughter's eyes, forcing her to lock gazes. Kohana pouted, reciting the line that her parent's told her whenever she would begin one her whiny, I-didn't-get-what-I-wanted scenes. "No, because big girls don't cry for little girl reasons."

Sakura nodded, with a smile. "Now that's my big girl," She tickled her stomach, giggles following soon after, "Would like me to start from the beginning, Hana-chan?"

The girl smiled, hugging her mom. "Yeah!"

Sakura wondered if she just dug herself in an irredeemable hole.

* * *

**A/N**: So, this is the Prologue, hope you've enjoyed it, no matter how short. I kind of wanted to, I don't know, characterize Sakura as a mother, because I really think that she'd be the type that's stern and strict when she needs to be, but deep down, it won't last that long because she's a marshmallow. Well, not really, but…I hope I make sense. LOL.

I wanted to characterize Kohana too, and, no, she isn't the eldest. She actually has an elder brother by two years, she's just the firstborn daughter, and I'd always imagined that whole mother-daughter dinner shopping and cooking together. I'm sure I'm not the only who fantasizes about that, I mean, it's adorable!

The chapters will be relatively under 1,000 words, so I guess that's called a drabble, right? I don't really know…

I've just noticed something. I have the _hardest _time finishing stories I start. It always is that way. The first maybe, give or take, five to six chapters (depending on length) just flow out like masterpieces from my brain, but, then something like a clog blocks the awesomeness. Am I the only one who experiences this? If not, which I am pretty sure I'm not, does anyone have any advice? I abhor writer's blocks, but that is exactly what is hitting me with every story I start. I'd like to warn you all of that, before you become too addicted. (Smiles)

Anyway, Review!

~NaruBaby2496


	2. Chapter 2

Lopsided Lollipops

NaruBaby2496

_The old scraggly woman handed me an apple to eat_

_But with a quick look at her shinobi-sandal clad feet,_

_The poison visible in her cloak, _

_That weird gurgle that erupted from her throat,_

_I decided that_

_Snow White had to be as blind as a bat, _

_To take an apple from a woman who looked as pedophilic_

_As Oro, our Michael Jack_

_**(OMG, no offense, R.I.P. Michael Jackson, you're name just rhymed and well, circumstances…Beat it was an awesome song, though, dude.)**_

She laughed in that motherly way again, a broad, cheery, happy grin plastered on her face. "I'll start the story now, okay?"

"Hai, hai, Kaa-san!"

"Well," the woman tucked some loose hair behind her ear with her free hand, "It all started when I was seven years old, and your Auntie Ino-chan and I were playing hide and seek …"

* * *

Right, left, always forward, Sakura Haruno sprinted as silently as possible through the open field dashed with dandelions, sunflowers, and tall, elegant, swaying grass that could easily be taller than her; she tried to keep her giggles hushed. The girl laughed to herself, though she really really _really_ was trying to be quiet, and brushed another group of tall grass out of the way, only to be welcomed to a new, different, wooded expanse that she'd never seen before.

Her normally wide lime eyes widened further, until their corners ached, and her mouth unconsciously fell into the shape of an uppercase 'o'. She took cautious steps forward until a wired fence stood in her way, and at that point, she looped her fingers through the funny looking diamonds that the wired design made.

Clangs and clinks of metal against metal rang through the field, and sometimes sparks of what looked like miniature lightning lit the otherwise darkening sky. Two boys were training, she could see their dark forms moving fluidly in the grass, but it was clear to her that one was much more graceful and _natural_ than the other. It was as if it was just easy, while the other, smaller form, was trying his hardest to keep up. It was blatant fact.

Sakura could see the birds flapping their wings into their nests, the mothers huddling their chicks as bedtime neared, the fathers feeding the older young more food, and other forest animals' furred feet and scratchy claws against the dirt she could hear as they scurried away to sleep.

Was she really running that far away while Ino was counting?

She started to turn around and try to find a way back home, which shouldn't be that hard figuring as wherever she stepped a group of tall grass was flattened, bent, or distorted when compared to the rest. However, the hairs on the back of her neck came to a stand when she felt the familiar warmth of a person behind her, the small vibration of chakra making her pores tingle. Sakura was always good with sensing chakra, but…she looked over _all_ that she actually had done and saw the obvious footprints embed in the mud, the broken twigs, and the snapped branches…the whole 'stay hidden' deal was a little hard. She did have pink hair, after all.

Her shoulder twitched when a piece of wood snapped behind her, and instinctively, Sakura turned smartly on her heel, her hands in feeble fists, her feet placed in a docile defensive stance. Her eyes were clamped shut, trying to keep scared, hot, tears from rolling down her cheeks. She sputtered, for the adrenaline pumping through her veins made her feel uncomfortable. "I-I-I'm a shi-shinobi!"

That's what her dad told her to say whenever she was intimidated.

"Really?" Sarcasm was laced through his question, and Sakura could _hear_ the smug smirk rise on his face, the arrogant quirk of an eyebrow. The boy tapped the metal of the fence. "I thought shinobi were supposed to be masters of disguise."

Sakura's eyes forced themselves open and immediately she narrowed them. This boy thought he was the stuff. _It's time to put someone in his place…_"Che; what would you know? I happen to be the best in my class, for your information, mister ugly face!"

_Lies_. _Sakura-chan, lie _better_! Every word out of your mouth is an obvious—_

The boy scoffed, his smirk widening further. "Lie. You tell lies."

The seven-year-old Haruno merely crossed her arms tightly across her chest and raised a cotton candy eyebrow in an expression that could easily be read as 'Yes, I am lying, but for the sake of this game, tell me why I am.'

He crossed his arms, but then quickly decided that he would rather have them in his pockets. "I thought a boy named Uchiha Sasuke was best in class," He cocked his head to the side, an amused glint and a sparkle of 'I know something you don't' shimmered in his obsidian eyes, "or, at least that's what I've heard."

Sakura disgruntled her face, and grimaced. "Uh, _no_!"

"…No?"

"Yes!"

"Yes?" The smirk grew wider.

The grimace looked like it was permanently etched in her face as she stomped. "NO!"

"…No?"

"Yes, no; no, yes!"

The boy stared at her for a long time, watched her heave when she growled her last utterance out of her pretty lips, the small nerve of aggravation poking out of her large, yet somehow still cute, forehead, and the 'glare' that was supposed to be intimidating him, though he was really too busy trying to figure out where he'd seen eyes as green as hers before.

Sakura growled, "OMG, are you even listening to me?!"

He simply shook his head left to right. "Why are you here?" On normal occasions, he really would've just gotten his older brother to be rid of any intruders, but…this girl wasn't a normal occasion.

"If you were _listening_," A purely evil acid leaked through her words, "you would've heard that I accidently ran all the way here when I was playing hide and go seek with my friend."

Sasuke nodded lightly, then got on his tiptoes and lifted the lock pin from the top of the gate—his dad _thought_ he didn't know that was there—and swung it open, a rusty creak coming from the old metal. They both covered their ears, but he laughed lightly at how dramatic she was being. Sakura glared at him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm accidently showing you the way back," He smoothly grabbed her hand as he kept his face forward, forcing her to follow him. "While accidently holding your hand."

Sakura fought a blush as she stumbled after him. "Can I accidently tell—?"

"No."

* * *

Sakura took a big breath, putting a golden key into a familiar keyhole. "And somehow, I was perfectly content with just letting your Tou-san hold my hand as he led me back to the main road, the breeze tickling our skin and sending our hair astray, and never telling Ino-pig."

_Until the next day._

Kohana pouted as her mother unlocked the front door. "You guys didn't even kiss, Kaa-san! I could hold hands with Kichiro-dobe but that doesn't mean I'm gonna marry _him_!" Disgust etched her face and was underlined in her tone when she grumbled that name and that three-letter word.

The roseate laughed lightly. Kichiro was Hinata-chan and Naruto-sama's son, who was the same age as Kohana. He had a younger twin sister, Masumi, who happened to be Kohana's best friend. "Oi, Kohana-chan, you never know…"

"Kaa-san! Kichiro-dobe is icky! And aren't you suppose'ta be telling me a story, Little Missy Mommy?"

Sakura laughed again, placing her share of groceries on the counter. "Alright, alright…"

* * *

**A/N: A little longer than last time, yes? I'm trying to decide if, as I have the age of Sasuke and Sakura progress in their story, if I should have Kohana get older as well. I just love writing the little baby talk though…**

**But, hey, it's an idea, so don't be surprised if it happens. Besides, first chapter it said that Sakura's stories were long and the attention span of a three year old is like, fifteen-minutes…**

**Okay, lol, here I am talking myself into something. Ha-ha.**

**Oh, and before anyone asks why I didn't have either of them introduce the other (really) I did that on purpose. **

**Anyway, review! Fave! Alert! Whatever other option that is there besides report!**

**~NaruBaby2496**


	3. Chapter 3

L

opsided Lollipops

NaruBaby2496

_I find it hilarious_

_How Belle fell in love with a man as hairy as_

_A beast in the short span she was a hostage_

_I find it ridiculous_

_How many times I've been in the same situations_

_Yet, I've found no man to call my only_

_By dreamed, destined, and wanted matrimony_

"**I **don't believe I'm even doing this!" A girl with cherry blossom hair chanted as she debated her way down the familiar road, and gripped a wooden handle. She yanked it open; the heavy cut Maplewood barely missing her rounded, smooth shoulder. The bell rang melodiously, and a woman, no older than thirty, lifted her head up in a snap from what looked like a flower catalog, a somewhat guilty look on her face. It replaced into a cheery grin quickly when she saw who was smiling brightly next to the slowly shutting door.

The woman slid the magazine under the cash register sneakily—for she was really supposed to be watering the plants right now, not working on ordering more—and beamed, "Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-chan! Why're you here so early?" Their eyes, both baby blue and bright green, glanced over to the small Hello Kitty waving clock on top of the cashier's desk, which read 7: 15 AM digitally. "The shop has barely been open for ten minutes."

Normally, it wouldn't be a problem if Sakura would storm to the shop right after it opened, because she did it all the time when she was younger, and she and Ino were closer than peanut butter and jelly. Most of the time, if she were being completely honest with herself, Sakura would admit that she basically lived at the flower shop's upper level, where the housing was, with her friend. Now, though, it was just a thing of the past.

The two had gotten into a big fight over Uchiha Sasuke, a boy they both happened to think was cute. Being the better person, and getting tired of Ino avoiding her everyday during recess, Sakura decided to pay the Yamanaka's a visit and see if she could better things with an apology and a box of Skittles.

Sakura shrugged. "Well…I kind of wanted to apologize to Ino-chan for last week, if it's okay with you, Ma'am."

She laughed lightly, "Boy troubles again, ne, Sakura-chan?"

A blush danced on her cheeks, then tears grazed the rims of her eyelids, and, finally, an upset out-poking-of-bottom-lip showed on her face. Her eyes glared at the Hello Kitty clock, seeing it explode over and over again, as she muttered a curt, "No."

She really did not know why she showed up in the first place. Why was it always _her _that had to patch things over when they got in a fight? Hm?! A certain blonde ditz never showed up to her house at freaking seven seventeen in the freaking AM to freaking apologize, thankyouverymuch!

Mrs. Yamanaka easily read Sakura's expression and her thoughts as if she was an open book, and she laughed to herself, remembering those days when she and her best friends where ten and they fought over silly things like boys. "Go ahead," she absently pointed toward the staircase far on a sidewall, while grabbing her catalog from under the register with her other hand, "Ino is in her room watching TV. The door should be open."

Sakura nodded. "Domo arigatou."

.

.

.

.

Ino laughed lightly as the sponge ran down the road, chanting 'I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready' until he reached his work destination at a burger joint. He met up with his squid friend, though, it was really a one sided relationship because the squid didn't like the sponge enough to admit it, and smiled, his two buck teeth glistening. The yellow sponge's mouth opened, "Hello Squid—!"

"Is that Sponge Bob Square Pants?" A ringing, yet soft voice asked from what sounded like outside of her door (she was not about to check, because, excuse me; it was not commercial break yet).

Ino just made a derisive noise. "No, it's just this cartoon with talking sea animals, a scientist that's a squirrel, a sponge who wears shoes, and a fat starfish with green and purple swim trunks."

Sakura cautiously stepped into the room, ignoring all death rays emitting from Ino's body with every nearing centimeter toward her bed, and she shrugged, playing along. "Okay, then what is it called?"

Ino irritably snatched her remote from next to her and jabbed her thumb onto the mute button with a grunt.

An almost scary silence filled the room when the blonde girl twisted around from her comfortable position on the end of the bed and faced her distraction, her soft blue eyes in hard, angry, thin lines. She grimaced. "It's called 'Get Out Of My Room Annoying Billboard Brow of A Girl Who Steals Every Boy Who I Say I Like First'!" Her face disgruntled in a way that looked like she was trying to hold in a growl, and her cheeks flashed red as she squealed like a pig in annoyance, her substitute for a full on growl that would make the Inuzuka family proud.

Sakura smiled maliciously, knowing that the girl would bunch up her face further, which she did end up doing. "You sounded like a pig."

"Oh my god, do you not get the freaking hint!?" Her hands went about in every direction, "I don't want you in here! As in, not in my room, not in my hallway, not in _my_ house, not on my _property_, and definitely not freaking mooching on _my Sasuke-kun_!"

The roseate glowered, "Excuse me?! Your Sasuke-kun? _Your _Sasuke-kun?!"

Ino just flipped her head up and down, her ponytail bobbing with it. "Yes, and you can't have him. Because. He. Is. Mine." Her tone staccato and pitchy.

"Who'd you kill to make you Queen Piggy?!"

Blue eyes turned icy, and small hands gripped pink sheets with a white-grip hold. "You, in a second!"

Sakura's eyes widened in shock before she gasped. "And what did I do to deserve that type of punishment, your highness of—"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know."

The air in the room tightened further, tighter than the straight line of Ino's aggravated lips, more strained than the glares exchanged from both the girls. The silenced reigned, and Sakura clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. "And what would that be? Hm?! I don't remember you decreeing some law that forbade me from fair territory!"

Ino growled, an animalistic sound vibrating the walls of her throat. "Sasuke-kun is not territorial!"

"You just claimed him like an item a few seconds ago!"

"That's because he's mine _to_ claim!" She snapped quickly, harshly.

Silence filled the air, and Ino smirked triumphantly at the openly shocked expression on Sakura's face. "And there's _nothing_ you can do about it."

Sakura closed her gaping mouth with a fast click. What did she mean that she had nothing to do about it? She was the one who actually talked to the boy everyday after school, when she would tell her Kaa-san and Tou-san that she was just going to play hide and seek with Ino, even though she was really following the markers Sasuke-kun had left for her to that old fence. He'd get on his tiptoes and find the lock pin, open the gate with an eerie creak, and lead her through the field, right after accidently grabbing her hand, after she'd accidently blush as pink as her hair. It was basically routine until one night, Sasuke didn't show up, and he never did again. It seemed empty, empty through the field, empty, just…empty.

She glared at her friend. "_Fine_."

"Fine."

"Ugh! You cannot—"

"UGH! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

It was then, while was Sakura was too busy slamming the door hard enough to make the mirrors hanging on the wall on the side of the door shake violently, her steps hard as she stormed out of the household.

It was decided. If Ino was going to be that way…

Her green eyes flashed in determination, Ino's in pure resolve.

_**Let the games begin.**_

* * *

**A/N: Review! **

**~NaruBaby2496**


	4. Chapter 4

Lopsided Lollipops

NaruBaby2496

**A **flash of yellow speed through the treetops, and soon it came to a stop, as if to catch its breath for a quick second. He groaned, then whined into his radio set, "How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?"

_Translation: _How much longer until we can stop hoping from tree to tree and set up camp?

"She sells seashells down by the seashore." A feminine voice answered simply through the earpiece, it crackling before Naruto could fully understand her. Even then, the blonde hyperactive ninja raised a confused eyebrow. "Ne, Sakura-chan, what does that mean, again?"

Sakura hopped skillfully onto the next branch beside him and furrowed her brows in disbelief. Did she _not_ just tell him what that meant five minutes ago? White khaki shorts filled her vision when a soft thud landed but a few inches away from stepping on her foot, and soon he uncoiled from his leap, sending even lengthier shadows over the roseate.

A sneer rose over his lips as he muttered, "It means that we'll set up camp at sunset."

Naruto smiled goofily, laughing silently. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, Sakura-chan, you should really write down these 'secret messages and codes'," He put air quotes around each word immaturely emphasizing his unneeded point and apology.

Sasuke stared blankly at him for long seconds before quickly turning his head away. "You're such a freaking Dobe…"

With that, he sped away, as fast as light, silently demanding he lead this time instead of being the tail end, as he was before. He _was_ the captain, after all.

This was their, as in Team 7's, first mission together without Kakashi. It wasn't that big of a deal, seeing as they were just going to a nearby town only a day's travel away to find some herbs, and then they were heading back.

The town was about the most peaceful you could find, and it was only when herbs for medicines were needed that ninja were allowed inside the border. Even still, the civilians were especially hostile and discerning. Tsunade thought it'd be wise to send children, because who could be a difficult toward a bunch of twelve year olds? (And an eleven year old, seeing as Sasuke's birthday hasn't past yet, but that's beside the point.)

Sakura's eyes turned into her hearts as she giggled girlishly, watching Sasuke speed away faster than a bullet as she swayed back in forth in a full swoon mode.

"…Can I be—"

Immediately, she twisted her head toward the idiot who interrupted her staring at Sasuke time. "No. Your tail-end, Dead Last."

Naruto groaned, kicking a random loose piece of bark from the branch. "You are _so _mean, Sakura-chan!"

-

-

-

"FINE! Be that way!"

He gathered chakra in his feet and trailed after his teammates, whom of which he was strongly debating on whether they could still be considered precious people anymore. They're mean-faces.

0.0

Naruto slowed to a stop, careful not to run into Sakura, who had, oh-so-gracefully, suddenly froze right in front of him. He groaned. "Why did we stop _now_, Mr. Captain Sasuke-teme, sir?"

Sasuke simply glared at him, and then he glanced irritably toward Sakura, who was but millimeters away from him, attempting to sneak a hug in.

There was a silence, until a quiet pitter-patter pattern filled the emptiness, quickly drenching clothes, hair, and freezing skin. The once calm hum of water grew louder, into a stampede of angry water droplets pouring from the darkened sky.

Sakura frowned, crying inwardly about how this was going to _ruin_ her hair.

Naruto shivered slightly in fear. The deathly scowl in place on the Uchiha's was aimed directly towards him.

The boy seethed. "Any_more_ questions, Mr. Dumbass Scaredy-Cat Naruto?"

He purposely bumped the blonde's shoulder on his way off the branch, sending the Uzumaki spiraling down to the forest floor.

0.0

Sakura glanced shyly toward Sasuke, who was on the end of the log they were using as a makeshift bench. The rain had calmed down enough for the Uchiha to use a katon-no-jutsu, so they were both leaned over toward the warming rays of the burning campfire, taking in as much heat as possible.

That was especially hard for Sakura, seeing as all of her body heat that would normally be in her blood had rushed to her cheeks. She was alone. She was alone with Sasuke-kun.

She smiled, finally thinking of something to talk about. "Ne…Sasuke-kun, guess what?"

He just made a grunt of recognition.

"Naruto's been gone for a while, ne, Sasuke-kun?"

He moved closer to the fire, the oranges, reds, and yellow hues reflecting in his deep, hypnotizing, obsidian eyes.

Sakura scratched the back of her neck self-consciously, and shrugged half-heartedly. "Well, I mean, it can't take _that_ long to fish, can it? Psh," She giggled snobbishly, "I bet he drown—"

"Shut up." He muttered harshly, muscles tensing slightly.

The air tightened considerably, and Sakura couldn't help but avert her eyes to the ground in shame. That was…unexpectedly expected.

Silence reigned for a long while, except for the random crackles of the fire. Sakura breathed in deeply when she felt a tickle in her nose. A hand rushed to her mouth and she clamped her eyes shut when the tingle enveloped her whole body.

"A-A-Ah-choo!" She sneezed loudly, sitting dazedly while the white dots left her eyes, and then shivering for extra effect, though it really was cold. Sasuke had set up some tents a few minutes ago, saying it would be pointless to try to cover anymore ground while the trees were still wet, it was only getting darker by the second, and the rain was being sporadic. The fire was still flaring, luckily. Naruto was still gone, trying to fish, thankfully.

In a few minutes, though, Sasuke and Sakura would probably have to go and look for him.

Tch. Dobe.

Sasuke glanced toward Sakura, taking in the pink tint on her nose, and the pinker splash on her cheeks that was more obvious than when she was blushing. "You're cold," He stated softly, though not soft enough to make the statement a question, as it was supposed to be.

Sakura just turned her head toward him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, though—"

He watched intently as she sniffed, and shook his head in disagreement. "No. You're cold."

The roseate shakily rose her eyes, only to be drawn into the somehow soft gaze that the Uchiha was holding on her face, specifically her emerald orbs, searching for any sign of abnormalities at first. Then, he found himself looking at all the different shades of green, emerald, vermillion, lime, pastel, and grass. There was a ring of gold around her wide, shocked, pupil, which only widened further when he smirked lightly.

"And now you're blushing."

Normally, she would've had some smart comeback, like 'No shizz, Sherlock' or 'Um, no! Maybe you're Sharigan is just retarded' but their minimized proximity heightened her senses tenfold. Sasuke smelled amazing, not frilly or girly like fruit, but not like must, mud and dirt. He smelled like earth, like the beautiful evergreen trees, like maple, like the natural air, he smelled so…

"Sasuke…kun…" She murmured softly just as their noses brushed softly, a second before their foreheads bumped.

Her heartbeat, he could hear it, feel it as it speed faster, faster, almost uncontrollably, as if it was begging to bust out of her chest. He could feel her lips on his, soft, tender, and tasting like cherries, because that's what she was; a cherry blossom, a flower, fragile yet strong. He tilted his head just a micro-millimeter closer, and apprehensively their lips touched. Lightly. As if, he weren't sure, because he wasn't.

Why; why was he so compelled to hold her, touch her, kiss her, all of the sudden? He didn't know why, and frankly, he couldn't care. It warmed him in a way no fire ever could, it sent burning butterflies into his chest, and they roamed all over his body, migrating most wherever he and Sakura were touching. He liked it.

So, he kissed her.

Heat rushed through her veins, shock and adrenaline dominant at first. She was frozen, what was she supposed to do? Did Sasuke take to many meds this morning? She really wouldn't want to kiss him then if he were half-aware of what he was doing…then it would mean nothing. She didn't want to know that the only reason she was kissing back was because she wanted it and that he didn't know what he was doing. But then she felt an arm snake around her waist, pulling her closer, as close as close would allow, and it didn't really matter anymore.

So, she kissed back.

0.0

Naruto stumbled around the extraneous above ground roots, trying hard not to drop the somehow still alive and kicking fish, trying even harder not to fall face-first into the mud.

Finally, he saw the tree he was looking for, a huge etched on arrow pointing right on the trunk. He started heading that direction, until he remembered something.

"_We don't want anyone finding us, so go the opposite direction," Sasuke ordered while striking his kunai against the wood, etching a crude arrow onto the bark. _

_Naruto nodded. "You want bass, right?"_

"_I _don't care_, Dobe. I want some dang food."_

Naruto mimicked Sasuke's bratty tone childishly distorting his face as he walked leftward toward camp, five (he and Sasuke would eat two, and, if any, Sakura would eat one) huge bass fish in his arms. He pushed his way through some bushes and gasped animatedly at what—no, who he saw on the log, and what they were doing!

He dumped fish on the ground loudly, forcing his other two teammates to rip their lips apart, red blushes lighting their faces.

"Aw, Teme was kissing Sakura-chan!" The blonde teased, skipping around in happy circles. He _knew_ he liked her!

Sasuke glowered, "Pick up the fish you idiot."

"I-I-I'm gonna go and…" Sakura hastily rushed off the log and jutted her thumb toward her tent, "and change. Yeah, okay…um, bye."

She sneaked away.

Naruto laughed teasingly, grabbing a slippery fish. "That is so adorable. Wait—wait; who initiated the smoochage? You?"

"…" He narrowed his eyes dangerously as he forced the blush away.

"You're not going to DENY it?! Oh my God, did you like, like, oh my God, Teme, this is hilarious!"

Sasuke rose from his seat and swiped a sharp stick from the damp ground. "It's hilarious?" He asked darkly, eyes hidden by his bangs. The Uchiha stalked up to Naruto, twirling the stick in his palm like a katana. "You know what else…," He stabbed the fish right in front of the blonde, a squishy smoosh of flesh following, "is hilarious, Naruto?"

The Uzumaki just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the fact that you and Sakura were two seconds from getting it _on_!"

Sasuke just glared tiredly. It wasn't worth it.

But he was going to make sure…

He glanced at the mutilated fish on the end of his stick turned weapon

…Naruto wouldn't tell a soul.

* * *

**A/N: LOL, so this chapter is way longer than usual, have you noticed? But, you know what, it was fun, and my favorite part was….**

The Kiss

The Kiss

The Kiss

**Take your guess! LOL, that was the best kiss scene I've done in a while, so feel special. Um, nothing much to say. Oh, oh! This is after the Zabuza episode, but before the Forest of Death deal. I hope that's a good time line. In between that whole mess of goop. Unless I totally forgot the first part and messed up the order, then just stick with them being eleven and twelve. **

**Review! **

~NaruBaby2496


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